Arguing with Seals

2019 ◽  
pp. 49-76
Author(s):  
Alessandro Antonello
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Seals ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
High Seas

This chapter analyzes the scientific and diplomatic debates on the question of sealing and seal conservation from 1964 to 1972, particularly the negotiation of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals. Because the Antarctic Treaty did not apply to the high seas, both scientists and diplomats noted that their 1964 conservation efforts did not cover animals, such as seals and penguins, when they were in the ocean. This gap seemed problematic when there was a push in the mid-1960s to renew commercial sealing in the Antarctic. The Antarctic Treaty parties thus committed to negotiating a treaty to cover seals in the high seas. They persisted in negotiating this agreement even when the prospect of renewed sealing lapsed, because seals and sealing became a useful subject by which the treaty parties, and scientists within SCAR, could continue to mark out their authority and positions for the Antarctic.

Conservation in the Antarctic

1977 ◽  
Vol 279 (963) ◽  
pp. 97-104 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Falkland Islands ◽  
Voluntary Agreement ◽  
South Georgia ◽  
Tristan Da Cunha ◽  
Conservation Measures ◽  
Antarctic Seals ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic

Formidable legal and administrative complexities arise from conflicting claims to jurisdiction and the continued absence of generally recognized sovereignty over much of the region. Existing conservation measures fall into three groups: elaborate laws made by governments claiming Antarctic territories, more restricted laws, and simple instructions for particular expeditions. The Antarctic Treaty, 1959, made it possible to begin coordinating all these separate instruments. No claimed jurisdiction has been surrendered or recognized: each government has started to harmonize its own control measures with the ‘Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora’, 1964. This scheme applied only to land areas and has since been evolving in the light of experience. Although not yet formally approved by all the governments concerned, it is working effectively by voluntary agreement. Different approaches are necessary for conservation of Southern Ocean resources, especially krill. A start has been made with the ‘ Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals’, 1972. There are many outstanding problems: all require effective cooperation between scientific and legal advisers, diplomats and politicians. Mention is made of recent British conservation legislation for South Georgia, the Falkland Islands and the Tristan da Cunha group. Some of the next steps are outlined.

scholarly journals Exploitation of Antarctic Iced Freshwater: A Call To Unfreeze Legal Discourse

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-77
Author(s):  
Ana Costov ◽  
Jessica Appelmann
Keyword(s):  
Legal Discourse ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Freshwater Resources ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessments ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Resources Exploitation ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System ◽  
High Seas

While discussed within the Antarctic Treaty System during the 1970s-1980s, the idea of iceberg harvesting was laid on ice due to the lack of adequate technologies and scientific knowledge on the potential environmental implications. However, the State Parties to the ATS envisioned the possibility of reopening the legal discourse. For that purpose, iced freshwater resources exploitation was excluded from the scope of the Madrid Protocol containing a ban on all mineral mining activities within the scope ratione loci of the ATS. However, during the negotiations, it was agreed that if the prospect of iceberg harvesting was ever to be realised, the environmental protection provisions under the Madrid Protocol should apply. The present paper provides an analysis of whether the potential exploitation of iced freshwater resources proves realistic within the existing legal framework under the Antarctic Treaty System and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and discusses which rules States would need to adhere to when engaging in such activities. It arrives at the conclusion that, as to now, there is no prohibition of iceberg harvesting for freshwater use under international law. Nevertheless, both within the scope of the ATS and in the high seas, environmental regulations restrict the implementation of the activity and, therefore, require comprehensive environmental impact assessments to be conducted before the commencement of the activity. Furthermore, as ownership allocation of icebergs is not regulated under the relevant treaties, the present paper examines two legal regimes that may potentially govern iceberg acquisition in the high seas, namely, res nullius and res communis. Finally, as private efforts have become more far-reaching in the recent decades, an overview of the current state of practice is presented, highlighting the observed advantages and potential drawbacks. Conclusively, the present paper advocates for the reopening of the legal discourse on the subject matter before the commencement of exploitation activities so as to ensure that the fragile Antarctic environment is protected and preserved for the benefit of all humankind in accordance with the object and purpose of the ATS. 

scholarly journals Richard Maitland Laws CBE. 23 April 1926 — 7 October 2014

2015 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 265-304
Author(s):  
John Croxall ◽  
Ian Boyd ◽  
Ian Parker ◽  
Geoffrey Cook
Keyword(s):  
Large Mammals ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Biological Oceanography ◽  
Antarctic Seals ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
Difficult Times ◽  
The Antarctic

Dick Laws was the leading marine mammalogist of his generation, developing in the Antarctic new techniques and approaches to population studies, notably with elephant seals and great whales. He later pioneered similar approaches with large mammals, especially elephants, in Africa before returning to the UK as Head of Life Sciences, then Director, of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). His inspirational and unequivocal leadership saw BAS and its science develop and flourish, both in difficult times and through the major reorganization and expansion to fulfil its enhanced role and responsibilities after the Falklands conflict. He was a staunch supporter and leading advocate of the Antarctic Treaty System and was hugely instrumental in the development of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals and of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. He led the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (eventually as its president) into ground-breaking collaborative programmes of research into the biological oceanography of the Southern Ocean in support of the sustainable management of its living resources. On retirement from BAS he became Master of St Edmund's College, Cambridge, presiding over its transition to an institution fully integrated into the collegiate system of the university. He also served with distinction in Cambridge University affairs generally. An imposing and charismatic individual of total probity and conviction, loyalty and dedication, greatly admired by friends and colleagues, respected by opponents, he leaves an unrivalled legacy to the population ecology and management of large mammals and to the science, conservation and management of the Antarctic.

The Greening of Antarctica

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Antonello
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Scientific Committee ◽  
Environmental Agreements ◽  
Human Relationship ◽  
Conceptual Changes ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
Antarctic Seals ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic

The Greening of Antarctica investigates the development of an international regime of environmental protection and management for Antarctica between the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959 and the signing of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 1980. During those two decades the parties to the Antarctic Treaty and an international community of scientists surrounding the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research reimagined Antarctica from being a cold, sterile, and abiotic wilderness into a fragile and extensive regional ecosystem. This book investigates this change by analyzing the negotiations and developments surrounding four environmental agreements: the Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora in 1964, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals in 1972, a voluntary restraint resolution on Antarctic mining in 1977, and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 1980. The development of the Antarctic Treaty and the related conceptual changes occurred because states and scientists were continually searching for authority and power within various realms. All actors were balancing their search for power and authority with the desire to maintain stability and peace in the region. In this international and diplomatic context, the actors were not simply trying to keep relations between themselves orderly; they were also ordering the human relationship with the environment through treaties.

scholarly journals “Logrolling” in Antarctic governance: Limits and opportunities

Polar Record ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey McGee ◽  
Bruno Arpi ◽  
Andrew Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
International Governance ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Current Case ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Kunlun Station ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) is considered a successful example of international governance as it has managed tensions over sovereignty claims, avoided militarisation and dealt with marine resources and environmental protection. Recently, China’s influence and assertiveness in many international institutions have significantly grown. What effect this shift in the international politics will have upon Antarctic governance remains to be seen. However, to further thinking on this issue we explore two current case studies that reveal pressure points within the ATS. First, in the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, Australia has proposed marine protected areas off East Antarctica, to which China and several other states have objected. Second, in the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, China has proposed special management arrangements for the area around the “Kunlun” station, to which Australia and several other states have objected. Negotiation theory suggests “logrolling” (i.e. trade of mutual decision-making support across issue areas) can be an effective strategy to avoid diplomatic deadlocks. We therefore consider the merits of a logrolling strategy for the above issues. We find that while a logrolling strategy in the ATS might facilitate short-term diplomatic success, it would carry significant risks, including the weakening of existing norms.

An international hierarchy of science: conquest, cooperation, and the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406612110338
Author(s):  
Joanne Yao
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
International Status ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System

The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), created in 1959 to govern the southern continent, is often lauded as an illustration of science’s potential to inspire peaceful and rational International Relations. This article critically examines this optimistic view of science’s role in international politics by focusing on how science as a global hierarchical structure operated as a gatekeeper to an exclusive Antarctic club. I argue that in the early 20th century, the conduct of science in Antarctica was entwined with global and imperial hierarchies. As what Mattern and Zarakol call a broad hierarchy, science worked both as a civilized marker of international status as well as a social performance that legitimated actors’ imperial interests in Antarctica. The 1959 ATS relied on science as an existing broad hierarchy to enable competing states to achieve a functional bargain and ‘freeze’ sovereignty claims, whilst at the same time institutionalizing and reinforcing the legitimacy of science in maintaining international inequalities. In making this argument, I stress the role of formal international institutions in bridging our analysis of broad and functional hierarchies while also highlighting the importance of scientific hierarchies in constituting the current international order.

Italian engagement in Antarctica

Polar Record ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 27 (161) ◽  
pp. 121-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Manzoni ◽  
M. Zucchelli
Keyword(s):  
Technical Research ◽  
Transport Aircraft ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Scientific Station ◽  
Logistic Support ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractFollowing Italy's accession to the Antarctic Treaty in 1981, the Italian Parliament made provision for a six-year programme of Antarctic research, to be administered by the Ministry for University and Scientific and Technical Research. The programme, Progetto Antartide, centres on a permanent scientific station at Gerlache Inlet, installed in 1986–87 for a staff of up to 60. Chartered ships, helicopters, snow vehicles and heavy transport aircraft provide logistic support for a substantial scientific and field programme, ranging widely from the base, the scope and extent of which is likely to increase.

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